News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Neighbours demand officials get rid of noisy and smelly birds in Hua Hin
PHOTO: Banmuang News Soldiers, police and environmentalists in central Prachuap Khiri Khan headed to a three storey property following up complaints that the building was being harvest ‘birds nests’ for Chinese restaurants. The officials couldn’t find the people involved in the premises or the harvesting for local restaurants. The local swallows, a protected species, in Thailand would be lured to…
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17 year old dies while fishing in Krabi pond
PHOTO: View from the Khao Ngon Nak viewpoint, Krabi A teenager has drowned while fishing with a friend at a pond in a Krabi national park. The Haad Nopparat Thara-Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park rangers recovered the body of Jessada Ngafah, a 16 year old male, at 2.30am this morning. Rangers were working at an office near the Khao…
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Retribution: Pattaya police chief transferred, foreign bar owners deported
Pattaya’s police chief has been transferred, the foreign bar owners are being deported and will be blacklisted. This has been the swift retribution for local senior police and the owners of ‘Coming Bar’ for allowing prostitution and under-age sex on their premises. In addition, the Bang Lamung district police chief says the offending bar will be shut for five years…
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83 year old goes missing during Phang Nga mangrove expedition
FILE PHOTO A man disappeared after rowing his boat to a mangrove area along the coast of Phang Nga’s Takua Thung district yesterday. Surat Sumalee, head of Ban Sam Chong Nua village in Tambon Kalai, sent out a search party of two dozen villagers after being informed at 6.40pm that 83 year old Wanmad Tonklung didn’t return from his trip.…
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Tsunami evacuation drill held in Patong, Phuket
The siren sounded, a tsunami was on the way and people had to evacuate from Phuket’s Patong Beach. Some people were so enthusiastic about the practice drill they started running from the beach before the siren was even sounded. Officials hailed the evacuation drill as a success. But some tourists were either bewildered by the 600 or so people that…
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Facial recognition security push in Thailand’s South
Concerns are being raised over the move to force all mobile phone users in Thailand’s South to submit their photos for facial-recognition identification. The edict says those who fail to do so by October 31 will have their mobile phone service blocked. The Cross Cultural Foundation says the order given to Thailand’s telecom operators was ‘racial profiling’. “The use of facial-recognition…
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SURVEY: Do you tip in Thailand?
Yesterday we asked readers to tell us what they do when it comes to tipping in Thailand. We noted that a lot of people’s feelings about tipping was related to where they come from and the customs they had on tipping in their home country. The question was… To tip or not to tip? Whilst the custom of tipping is…
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Chinese man arrested over theft and detention of another Chinese citizen in Phuket
A Chinese man has been arrested in Phuket over theft and holding a person against their will. Details were revealed to Phuket’s media this morning. Police arrested a Chinese man named Ming Xiang following an arrest warrant from the Phuket Provincial Court over theft and detention of a Chinese woman Li Peilin. The incident happened last Sunday. Two Chinese tourists…
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Fire destroys restaurant on Koh Lanta, Krabi – VIDEO
VIDEO: Krabi News PHOTOS: TNEWS Fire has damaged a restaurant on Koh Lanta in Krabi province. TNews reports that fire fighters were notified of the incident yesterday on Koh Lanta in the south of Krabi. Fire fighters and a number of fire engines arrived at the scene to find the restaurant well ablaze. It took more than two hours to…
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Teenager dies after motorbike collision in Chonburi – VIDEO
VIDEO: Padung Klahran / Pattaya Message PHOTOS: Pattaya Message A teenager has died after a motorbike accident in Chonburi. Pattaya Message reports that a Facebook user, Padung Klahran, yesterday posted a video clip from a dash cam which shows the motorbike driver losing control of his bike before colliding with barriers. The accident happened in Banglamung, Chonburi on Sunday. The…
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Thailand Post’s no-go list
Twenty years ago postal services were thought to he going out of fashion as email and social media began to replace people sending letters in the post. But that’s all changed now as online retail services are making the world’s postal services busier than ever. Including Thailand Post. If you’re wishing to avoid problems with Thailand Post and would like…
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Counterfeit clothing seized in Pattaya raid
PHOTOS: Pattaya Message Officers have seized counterfeit goods at shops along Pattaya Beach yesterday. Pattaya officers raided a department store near the city’s beach area. Officers have seized counterfeit goods such as hats, shirts and pants from three shops in a department store with a value around 500,000 baht. The shop owners had already fled the shop by the time officers…
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Police raid Soi 6 bar in Pattaya, undercover prostitution and underage sex
Police in Pattaya have raided the Coming Bar in Soi 6. They allegedly uncovered evidence of prostitution and underage sex on the premises. Authorities noted that prostitution was available at the venue and had 18 women available to service customers, one girl was found to be 17 years old. The venue had rooms available above the bar for customers. A…
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Banned. Thai airports cracking down what you can take on board
Thailand’s CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) is urging airports to more strictly enforce security regulations that would prohibit a longer list of things being taken aboard. The upgraded ban covers foods, liquids and cosmetics that are now limited to containers that have a capacity of no more than 100 millilitres (a tenth of a litre). These items will be restricted and…
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Pedestrian and motorbike driver injured in Pattaya collision
PHOTOS: Pattaya Law Enforcement A pedestrian and a motorbike driver both have sustained injuries after an incident near Central Festival Pattaya yesterday. Pattaya Law Enforcement reports that the male foreign pedestrian sustained injuries after being hit by a motorbike in front of Central Festival Pattaya. The motorbike driver also sustained injuries as a result of the collision. They were both…
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Poll – Will the Thai Baht rise or fall (compared to other currencies)?
Yesterday The Thaiger polled our Facebook readers asking them… “Will the Thai baht continue to rise in value against many of the western currencies? Or has it peaked?” Your responses were very mixed but the result was a slight leaning towards the baht dropping, but only by 52% to 48%, from 585 votes. Thanks for participating! Here are few of…
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Thai Air Asia pulling the plug on its Chiang Rai-Singapore service?
from ttrweekly.com The Thai AirAsia’s direct flight between Chiang Rai and Singapore is unlikely to survive. That’s the outlook of travel website ttrweekly.com Launched early 2019 with little fanfare, the new international route was one of four direct services that use Chiang Rai as a hub. The others were direct flights to Kuala Lumpur, Macau and Phuket. So what’s gone…
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Tougher laws and bigger fines for taxi drivers who reject passengers
Mai dai! Taxi drivers who say ‘no’ to passengers will soon be liable to a fine of 5,000 baht. That’s up from 2,000 baht. Taxi drivers, especially in Bangkok, are notorious for rejecting fares when the passenger’s travel plans doesn’t suit the driver’s, especially at times near the change of shifts. The owner of the taxi will now face a…
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Suvarnabhumi’s ‘fast track’ scam exposed – AoT crackdown on Thailand’s biggest airport
After allegations of massive fraud in the use of Thailand’s largest airport’s Premium Lanes at immigration, Airports of Thailand (AoT) are cracking down on the use of the so-called ‘fast lanes’ and the hawkers profiting from the reselling of the service. Only first and business class passengers, plus passengers with special needs, will be permitted to use the Premium Lane…
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Three suspects arrested with over 500 kilograms of kratom in Kathu, Phuket
Police have arrested three suspects with a total of 502 kilograms of kratom in Kathu, central Phuket. Border Patrol police have arrested three suspects – 34 year old Nattee Sukan, 20 year old Nattawut Lakhin and 18 year old Nantawan Kuna – at a rented room in Kathu. Police seized 502 kilograms of kratom leaves. They were taken to the…
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Weather warning for Thailand’s southern provinces
Thailand’s wet-season is forecast to be ‘wet’ in the south for the next few days. The Thai Meteorological Department has issued its 3rd consecutive weather warning in the past 24 hours to alert residents of heavy rain in the Southern provinces, strong winds and high seas. In the latest warning issued this morning at 6am, the TMD reported that, until June…
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Phang Nga governor declares flood disaster zones in Thailand’s south
PHOTOS: ศูนย์ปฏิบัติการข้อมูล The Phang Nga provincial administration has declared five flooded districts in the province as disaster zones to speed up assistance to affected residents. Phang Nga’s governor Siripat Pattanakul said the districts of Kapong, Thay Muang, Takua Pa, Muang and Takua Thung are now declared disaster zones following weekend flooding that’s affected 1,700 people from 442 families. Localised heavy…
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Boeing sued by more than 400 pilots in class action over 737 MAX ‘cover-up’
More than 400 pilots are involved in a class action against the US manufacturer of the 737 MAX seeking damages over what they allege was Boeing’s “unprecedented cover-up” of the “known design flaws” of the latest incarnation of its top-selling jet. • A plaintiff lodged claims against Boeing on behalf of hundreds of pilot peers alleging the company “knowingly” covered…
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Two Patong Tuk Tuk drivers surrender after a shooting in Patong, Phuket
Two Tuk Tuk drivers have surrendered after a Patong entertainment staff member was shot and killed early yesterday. Patong police were notified of the incident at 4am Sunday morning in Soi Patong Tower off Taweewong Road (the beach road). Police and emergency responders arrived to find the body of a man who was identified as 45 year old Panya Kingjampa, a…
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Swiss driver faces charges after motorcyclist dies in Rawai
A motorbike driver has died after colliding into the side of a sedan whose driver was a Swiss man in Rawai over the weekend. The Swiss driver is facing charges. Chalong Police were notified of the incident on Wiset Road in Rawai opposite the Macro Store, just south of the Chalong Underpass, on Saturday afternoon. Police and emergency responders arrived…
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ASEAN takeaways – 34th Summit in Bangkok
PHOTO: Thai PBS Time to say goodbye. The leaders, minders, security details, media and staff all head back to the ten ASEAN nations following a non-controversial Bangkok Summit held over the weekend, as well as regional plenaries held last Thursday and Friday. The expensive crockery is being put away, the hundreds of flags neatly folded, the chairs stacked and stored,…
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Polls show Thai voters sick of endless bickering over Cabinet posts
Exactly three months now since the national election for a new parliament and still no announcement of a parliamentary majority, government or ministries. But two surveys are a strong indication of Thai voter weariness over the drawn-out process of establishing a ministerial Cabinet. A NIDA (National Institute of Development Administration) poll shows most people (46.4%) complain that their elected representatives…
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Thousands throng to Chiang Rai to remember the 1st anniversary of Tham Luang saga
PHOTO: Thai PBS Thousands of locals plus tourists, along with some of the key players in the search and rescue of 13 Mu Pa (Wild Boar) footballers trapped in the flooded Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district, celebrated the first anniversary of the day the team stumbled into the Tham Luang caves setting off the epic drama…
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ASEAN’s bid for the 2034 World Cup
Today’s last day of the ASEAN Summit in Bangkok is considering a proposal, from the foreign ministers of the ten member nations to submit a bid to host the football World Cup in 2034. The only Asian hosts of the World Cup so far have been Japan and South Korea, in 2002. Thailand’s Foreign Minister, Don Pramudwinai, says the proposal…
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The Korean Wave – a tsunami of cultural opportunity for ASEAN
BTS, Blackpink, ASEAN, K-Pop by The Star Online – Asia News Network TV drama, pop music, culture, food. The ‘Korean Wave’ is on its way. The Korean Wave was the hot topic at the ASEAN-Korea Media Forum held in Seoul recently, with experts saying that it has, in fact, enhanced cultural exchanges between the republic and the entire region. Korean…
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